


Still Learning

by sparrowwrites



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M, bechloe - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2016-12-03
Packaged: 2018-09-02 01:53:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8647270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparrowwrites/pseuds/sparrowwrites
Summary: It was no question that Beca and Chloe were inseparable after their first round at the ICCAs together. However, they're still learning a lot about each other four years later as they make their way to Worlds. Starts prior to Chloe's freshman year in college but then follows the same time line as PP and PP2 excluding most relationship statuses.





	1. Finding the Right Fit (pt. 1)

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters.

Chloe was a model student in high school. She was cheer captain, president of student government, a member of National Honor Society, and in the top ten percent of her class. Naturally, as a talented singer, she placed a heavy emphasis on the arts when looking for a university to continue her education. Barden was never her number one pick. It wasn't her second or third one either. In fact, it wasn’t even on the list. It was a state school so the best way she could describe it and any other college similar to it was cheap but not critically invested in what she was aiming for with her life.

The bubbly redhead had her eyes set on the stage. Soon enough, this became her career guide. The major she honed in on after months of writing undecided on her applications became vocal performance and from there, it took her to schools such as Eastman and the Manhattan School of Music. Neither school was too far from her Upstate home outside of Saratoga Springs and she knew they were the best of the best.

As the middle of her senior year rolled around, Chloe grew more confident and added Juilliard to her list of schools. With her applications sent and audition dates set with each university, the young woman couldn’t help but beam with excitement. Her mother caught her smiling into space often as she practiced her repertoire. It was only a week before her Eastman audition and the high school senior was practically glowing from the anticipation.

“Chlo, that smile of yours is contagious,” Mrs. Beale laughed as she entered the small music room.

“It’s hard not to smile when the music gets good,” the redhead joked before putting her binder of music away on the shelf beside her upright piano.

“It’s always good when you’re singing it, honey,” her mom smiled, “Have you thought about which college you would prefer once you get the audition results back?”

The girl’s brow furrowed and she paused for a moment before she answered, “Well, I’m sure I won’t get into all three music programs so I’m counting on that to narrow my options down a bit. I haven’t even toured Eastman or Juilliard yet so I’m not sure which I would pick based on the campus either.”

“All of them are amazing schools for the program you are looking for though, so no matter where you choose, you can’t lose in that regard. Have you looked at any schools besides them? What if you decide music isn’t the right major for you?” she asked as she put an arm over her daughter’s shoulder.

“Come on, Mom,” Chloe laughed, “How can music not be the right thing for me? The only career I am remotely considering is one with me on stage with a microphone in hand and lyrics gracing my many fans.”

She ended her last sentence with a wink and Mrs. Beale threw her head back with a loud guffaw, “If you walk into your auditions with an ounce of the confidence you’re oozing with right now, those judges would be foolish not to accept you.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Chloe beamed again.

The week flew by in a whirlwind of music and nerves. The confident redhead seemed to thrive off of the anxious energy produced by her nervousness. When the day finally arrived for her first audition, Mrs. Beale pulled up to the music and arts building in downtown Rochester and gave her daughter a quick hug.

“I’m proud of you kiddo,” she smiled into the mane of red hair in her face, “Go warm up those vocal chords while I find a place to park the car.”

Chloe quickly hugged her back and grabbed the binder and her iPad from the center console before jumping out of the car.

“See you soon!” she shouted over her shoulder as she entered the massive building in front of her.

The most surprising thing to her was the overwhelming number of people. There must have been dozens upon dozens of prospective students lined up at the registration tables along the main entry hall. That was the first time Chloe’s smile faltered.

‘I never expected there to be so many people…’ she thought to herself as she inched her way to the front of the line at the table marked “A-C.”

“Name and hometown, please?” the grumpy woman at the table asked.

“Chloe Beale from Saratoga Springs, New York,” she answered quickly with her signature smiled plastered on her face again.

“Alright, your identification number is 31467 and your audition time slot is 1:45pm in the main recital hall. You will have a twenty minute warm up period in which you and the other 9 auditionees in your time slot will have access to the practice rooms. In the meantime, you may join one of the tour groups. There will be one leaving every fifteen minutes starting at 9:15,” the woman rattled off the information without hesitation and Chloe wonders how many times she must have already recited it this morning.

“Thank you so much,” the girl smiled again while grabbing her audition packet before wandering off to find her mom in the sea of people in the hall.

She pulled out her phone to reveal a couple of missed phone calls. One from her mom and the other an unknown number. She walks outside and hits play on the first voicemail and is perplexed when all that comes through is static.

‘Weird,’ she thought, ‘She must have butt-dialed me or something.’

The bright yellow watch around her wrist tells her that it’s already half past eight. She had been in the music building for almost an hour. Chloe hits the redial button and holds the phone to her ear.

A single ring starts to sound before it cuts off, “Hello, this is Debra Beale. I can’t make it to the phone right now but please leave a message after the beep.”

Chloe sighed. Her mom had promised to be there for her for the audition day. It was her that gave the redhead a love for music and it felt wrong not having her around right before the moment the girl would prove how much that early influence impacted her life. 

Debra Beale was well known in their area as the director of the Church of Saint Peter choir, and she made it a point to include music in everyday activities in the Beale household. She sang while cooking breakfast in the mornings and sang more as she cleaned throughout the day and Mr. Beale would sometimes sing a duet with the tall auburn-haired women while they prepared dinner for the family at the end of the day. Chloe’s younger brother, Lucas, played guitar for the church on numerous occasions and it wasn’t uncommon for the whole family to sing together for special services like Christmas and Easter.

Resigning herself to sit indoors as the chilly January wind bit into her exposed cheeks and nose, Chloe lost her smile for the second time that day. Another half hour rolled by and she grew restless.

“Where in the world could she be?” Chloe thought aloud.

“Are you okay?” a high pitched voice sounded beside her.

Chloe jumped and turned to find a tall blonde sitting next to her on the bench by the doors.

“I’m fine,” she squeaked quickly and plastered a smile on her face again.

“Are you sure?” the blonde questioned, “My name is Aubrey, by the way. Aubrey Posen.”

“Chloe Beale,” the redhead responded and extended her hand, “I think so… my mom has been missing for a couple hours now and I’m starting to get worried.”

Aubrey shook her hand and squeezed it gently before saying, “Hmm, that seems odd. Parking is pretty hard to find right now though. I know it took my daddy at least an hour to find a spot within walking distance.”

“That makes me feel a little better,” she smiled weakly, “Where are you from, Aubrey?”

“Me? I’m from Atlanta, Georgia,” she answered with a smile and a hint of a southern twang in her voice.

“You’re pretty far from home,” Chloe laughed, “What brought you here?”

“The University of Rochester is well known for their school of music,” Aubrey answered with a smile, “My daddy was up here doing business anyway so I figured I might as well look at it. Where are you from? I’m hoping to major in vocal performance. How about you?”

Chloe was beaming again, “I’m from Saratoga Springs, New York. It’s not super far from here. I’m also majoring in vocal performance! I hear this is one of the best places to major in it besides Juilliard. I’m auditioning there in about a month. I just heard back from them about an audition date after I sent in my pre-screening recording.”

“Oh, wow! That’s so cool!” Aubrey’s jaw had dropped at the mention of Juilliard, “Their acceptance rate is so low that I didn’t even bother auditioning there.”

“I like to set my sights pretty high. That way, even if I don’t reach my goal, I’ll still end up somewhere higher than I thought I’d be,” the redhead smirked slightly. She adored the attention, “Where else are you auditioning?”

“Barden University is my only other choice right now,” Aubrey answered shyly.

“Where’s that?” Chloe smiled warmly at the other girl.

“It’s right outside of Atlanta,” the blonde smiled slightly again, “They don’t have the strongest music program but the extracurricular music is phenomenal.”

“I haven’t heard much about Barden. It never occurred to me to look outside of the programs,” Chloe responded. She chewed on the inside of her lip out of nervousness. How many amazing schools had she passed by just because their music program wasn’t in the top tier!

“They have some pretty amazing a cappella groups. The boys ensemble, The Treblemakers, have won the national a cappella competition for a couple years in a row now. Their women’s group, the Barden Bellas, have also started getting pretty good,” Aubrey’s eyes danced with excitement as she explained the two ensembles further.

Chloe hung onto the blonde’s every word. A capella was never a thing at her high school. They had a decent sized choir but the select ensemble was always backed up by heavy instrumentation and, in her opinion, it never let the true beauty of the voices shine through. Her only experience with a capella had been at a church service when her mother and she had sung a duet. It had been so moving that it felt spiritual so the thought of entire organizations devoted to this singing style intrigued her greatly.

“Do you want to see a video of a Barden Bellas performance at my high school last spring?” Aubrey asked.

Chloe nodded her head enthusiastically. As the video started though, she caught a glimpse of auburn out of the corner of her eye.

“Mom?” Chloe jumped up from her seat.

“Chloe! There you are! I have been looking for you for ages,” the older woman hugged her.

“I’ve been here the whole time,” the redhead responded breathlessly before turning to face both her mom and the blonde beside her, “Mom, this is my new friend, Aubrey. Aubrey, this is my mom, Debra.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Aubrey,” she shook the blonde’s hand, “Call me Deb.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Beale,” Aubrey started, “Umm, I mean, Deb.

“Aubrey was just about to show me a video of an a capella group at another college she is looking at,” Chloe said with a huge grin on her face.

“Well, let’s watch it,” Deb smiled back.

Aubrey pressed play again and Chloe was once again amazed by what she was hearing. Those girls could really sing! And they were so in sync!

Chloe’s mom asked Aubrey about the school after the video ended while Chloe sat back and watched the seconds tick by on her watch. She was significantly less nervous now that she knew her mom was safe and sound but the audition was looming nearer and the redhead could feel a nervous sweat building on her palms.

A few hours later, she and the blonde exchanged numbers and promised they’d find each other on facebook after the auditions were over. It was nearing 12:30 and Aubrey was about to head upstairs for her warm up period. Once she finished the audition, she would not be allowed back into the entry hall.

Chloe sat back on the bench and her mom ran her fingers through the girl’s long, wavy locks.

“Don’t be so nervous now, sweetie,” her mom rested her arm around her shoulder, “You have been so confident these past couple weeks but that seems to have ended once you set foot in this building. You are a Beale, Chlo. Remember that you can do anything you dream of.”

The redhead smiled at her mom but it faltered again, “I’m not so nervous about the audition. I’m only worried now that I should have looked at schools outside of the top tier for music. Barden seems so interesting! Eastman, Manhattan, and Juilliard are so rigid.”

“It’s never too late to look into something different,” she gave her daughter’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze, “but don’t forget how much work you have put into auditioning at these schools and how much you have looked forward to attending one of them.”

“Okay,” the redhead muttered as she chewed on her lip again.

The minutes kept ticking by and before long, it was Chloe’s turn to go up the stairs.

“I’ll meet you at the doors on the other side of the building. I parked closer to there anyway,” Mrs. Beale smiled, “Good luck, honey. I love you.”

“Love you too, mom,” Chloe smiled genuinely.

She kept that grin on her face as she entered a practice room and pulled out her warm up sheet. It wasn’t like she hadn’t memorized it. The redhead just loved the familiarity of the structure of the notes across the page. Having it here with her was another source of comfort. However, she barely sang through her vowel and range warm ups before the door opened behind her and a young man stood before her.

“Miss Beale?” He asked.

“Yes?” Chloe said quizzically.

“You’re up, buttercup,” the young man said with a flourish of his hand.

Chloe giggled to herself and followed the man out to a set of double doors.

“Audition packet and number?”

She handed him the packet and responded, “31467.”

“Alrighty! You’re good to go,” He said excitedly, “Good luck!”

She hardly had the chance to thank him before the doors closed behind her.


	2. Finding the Right Fit (pt. 2)

Aubrey texted the redhead once to confirm that she had the right number, but never responded again. Chloe was starting to think that she had scared off the girl and felt saddened that she lost a friend so quickly. She had already had her auditions for Juilliard and Manhattan by now and all that was left was to wait for results.

The redhead found herself googling the Barden Bellas often and was always in awe by the end of the video. She knew she had pipes that could outsing many of these girls in the videos but they could sing while doing rigorous choreography. It amazed her to say the very least.  
Mrs. Beale anxiously searched through the mail every afternoon while Chloe was at school. She was eager to give her daughter any word on how her auditions had gone. It was almost a month after the final audition when the first letter arrived. The envelope had the Eastman School of Music seal on it and the second it showed up in the mail, she snapped a picture and sent it to Chloe’s cell.

‘Look who’s got mail!!! :D’ read the caption.

‘AHHH I’m so excited!!!!’ Chloe responded seconds later.

‘It’s sitting on the counter waiting for you when you get home!’

‘I can’t wait to open it!’ Chloe practically squealed at her phone as she waited for the final bell to ring signalling the end of the school day.

The redhead practically flew home that afternoon. There was nothing about to get in her way of knowing her audition result. As she threw open the front door, she dropped her bag on the floor and sprinted to the kitchen. Her mom was there standing next to the letter with her father on the phone. Both of them were talking about their excitement for their daughter. Chloe picked the letter up off the counter with shaky hands. Her fingers fumbled as she opened it to reveal a letter with the heading “Congratulations!” peaking above the fold.

Chloe let out a shriek of happiness and jumped up and down, “I got in!”

Mrs. Beale hugged her daughter and held the phone to her ear.

“Congratulations, honey,” she heard her father say, “I’m so so so proud of you.”

The redhead felt her eyes begin to water and soon she was crying with full force. She felt so entirely validated. It was as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Later that week, her father came home from his travels for work and hugged her tightly.

“You are my favorite musician, Chlobear,” he whispered in her ear.

“Now I just have to see what the other two schools said,” Chloe whispered back.

“Hey,” her father hugged her again, “no matter what they say, I am unbelievably proud of you.”

She beamed again and went back into the little music room. There was a half finished application to Barden sitting on top of the piano, but Chloe didn’t pay any mind to it. She sat at the bench and lifted the cover from the keys while looking out the window to see snow drifting past the window. A smile fell on her lips as she placed her fingers over the keys and started to play. Mr. Beale stood in the doorway watching his daughter play.

Chloe enjoyed these raw moments of music. Gentle snowflakes tapping the window and her fingers flowing over black and white without a care in the world. It was a snow day after all and not just a snow day. It was a Friday snow day. What better way to express the freedom associated with an early release from school for the week?

Mrs. Beale hurriedly came to the doorway a few minutes later holding another letter in her hand. Her hair looked frazzled, but a bright gleam in her eyes hinted at the contents of the mail that day.

“Chloe, you have mail again,” she said extending the letter towards her daughter. Lukas heard the exchange and rushed into the small room himself.

“What’s it say? What’s it say?” he asked again and again.

“I don’t know yet,” Chloe laughed and tore the envelope open.  
It was from the Manhattan School of Music. There was no large congratulations written on the top, but Chloe kept reading further. Near the very end of the letter read, “We look forward to having you in the studio next year.”

Chloe smiled wide and nodded her head for her parents and brother. She thought back to that audition and remembered how she had cracked her lowest pitch in a sight singing exercise. There was an immediate whoosh of fear flowing through her body once she felt the crack escape her throat loud enough to make one of the judges lift their gaze from the paper. It was always a terrifying moment for her when notes cracked. Instead of faltering though, she smiled wider and finished strong. In her mind, it was the continuation that must have earned her those points back. Chloe had never dealt well with poor performances so she was proud of herself for holding it together in that particular audition.

‘Two down and one to go,’ she thought while eyeing the application on top of the piano.  
A chorus of, “Congrats!” erupted from the redhead’s family and her brother tackled her with a hug. Chloe couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with joy after being accepted into two out of her three top picks already.

“This is so fantastic, Chlo!” Mr. Beale exclaimed.

“I agree, honey,” Mrs. Beale, “You’re so talented and I’m proud of the work you’ve put into your dream.”

“Well, I am a Beale, aren’t I?” Chloe has her signature grin on her face as the rest of the family joins her brother’s hug.

That night, Chloe stared at the unanswered text she sent to Aubrey over a month ago now.

‘Hey,’ she typed hesitantly.

It takes the girl a minute to send the message. She couldn’t figure out why the blonde never answered her after auditions. Although she’d never admit it, Chloe Beale cared a lot about what others thought about her. It’s why she tries so hard to be her perky self. She set her phone down and stared out the window at the street lamp illuminating the winter landscape outside. The light cast a warm orange glow into her bedroom that bathed her ceiling in dancing stars from the snow. It was soothing to watch and before long she rolled over and fell asleep for the night.

Ding.

Chloe lifted her head from her pillow but didn’t quite get out of bed. The yellow watch sitting on her bedside table read 5:43 and it took her a moment to remember what had woken her up in the first place. 

Ding.

Another message popped up on her phone screen and the brightness assaulted her sleepy eyes. Chloe groaned and rolled over, pulling her large fluffy pillow over her head. Although she was normally a morning person, there had to be limit placed on Saturdays. How else would she regain her hours of sleep lost from being a peppy ball of energy every other morning of the week?

Ding.

The redhead’s arm shot out from under her blankets and grabbed the cellphone, simultaneously opening the keypad with her thumb. After a couple seconds, her eyes adjusted and she read the messages

The first one was her phone plan warning her that she had used up 90% of her minutes for the month. Chloe deleted it. She had less than a week until the end of the month anyhow. The second message was a weather alert for an ice storm heading towards Saratoga Falls. She made note to lift the windshield wipers on her mom’s car once she rolled out of bed for the day. Chloe scrolled down and tapped on the third message hoping it was from the blonde singer at Eastman. Much to her dismay, it was not.

‘forward this to 10 people to prevent a curse from falling over YOU and your entire FAMILY!!’ was followed by a string of emoticons.

Icy blues rolled in their sockets and the redhead deleted the message. She saw her message sent to Aubrey pop up to the top of the screen and immediately closed the phone. Her hopes fell again and the smile that rarely left her face followed suit.

She allowed herself a few minutes longer underneath the warmth of her blankets before she finally swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stretched her arms and back to shake out any remaining traces of drowsiness from her body. The girl smiled wide as she opened her curtains all the way, revealing a fresh blanket had been delivered over the footprint marred snow from the day before.

Chloe loved snow. It was fresh. It was clean. It was beautiful. The chill felt invigorating and it made the evenings curled up on the couch with a book and her cat on her lap that much more satisfying. Not to mention that winter’s color scheme totally matched her eyes and made the bright red of her hair pop. It was something that her high school friends knew well. Chloe was always the one staring out the window at the falling snow during class. Unlike the others that joined her at the windowsill, however, she admired its beauty rather than fantasised of an early dismissal. That circumstance was just an occasional bonus.

After strapping the yellow watch to her wrist and checking the time (it was 7:58), she skipped down the hallway and stairs to the side door. It was a race to the windshield of the van in the driveway as the redhead hadn’t put shoes on before running out the door.

“Shit, that’s cold!” she exclaimed to herself as she lifted the windshield wipers and sprinted back into the still open doorway.

“Chloe, is that you?” Mrs. Beale’s voice echoed down the stairwell.

“Yes, mom,” Chloe answered.

She heard footsteps coming down the stairs and her mom’s head appeared around the doorway to the coat room, “You’re going to catch your death out there! If you are going to go outside, put some shoes on first,” her mom scolded.

“Yes, ma’am,” Chloe ducked her head a little, “I didn’t think about it. Why are you up so early?”

“I might ask you the same thing,” she smiled back, “I have to finish putting together the folders for choir practice this afternoon. Are you still coming with me to help figure out the program for tomorrow’s mass?”

“I’ll definitely come along!” the redhead squealed. She absolutely loved singing in the old church. The high ceiling and hard stone walls created a perfect environment for some “vocal magic” as she liked to call it. Her mom smiled before leaving to go back upstairs to the office. She followed suit.

Later in the day, the dishes from lunch were stacked on the counter by the sink, but, rather than washing them as her mother had requested, Chloe stood staring at the mail slot in the front door. It was becoming a habit of hers. The mail usually came around 4:30, and the yellow watch on her wrist read 4:27. She sat cross legged on the floor with her elbows on her knees and her chin resting on the heels of her palms. Her mind kept running through the Juilliard audition and she kept questioning her choice of repertoire and the styles in which she sang.

Chloe had started vocal lessons through a lady in the church choir at the age of eleven. Most people thought she was too young, but the passion the young child had for music was evident. She was practically itching to learn more. She was classically trained for a majority of her years in lessons but later on, her vocal teacher, Miss Addie, began letting her explore her own voice.

The redhead learned quickly that she loved singing jazz and blues more than anything operatic. Miss Addie introduced her to a jazz vocalist just outside of Saratoga Springs and she started doubling up her lessons. Once a week she’d drive to Miss Addie’s place down the road and a day later, she’d drive across town to Skidmore College where Dr. Laura Lindsey based her studio.

Chloe often caught herself scatting when her mind wandered and it always brought that signature Chloe smile to her face. Her solid soprano voice got it’s “alto on” as she dipped her range lower than her operatic training would have allowed. It brought her voice to a whole new level.

At Juilliard, the redhead decided to show them everything that she could do. She started with “Che Fiero Costume” by Giovanni Legrenzi. She loves the literal fiery passion in the piece and the pure energy she could use while singing it. Then came a short art song called “Travels’ End” by Florence Price. It showed off the low range her jazz training had coaxed out of her vocal chords. Chloe hoped that this would impress the judges seated in the recital hall, but the more she thought back to it, the more an unsettled feeling festered in her stomach. Her third song had been her choice. It was a no brainer to her to sing jazz and show off her improv skills because she knew it would bring out her well rounded knowledge of vocal styles. It looked as though the judges enjoyed the performance but a part of her wondered whether these musicians had considered her less professional after the scatting ended.

“What if I didn’t get in?” she whispered to herself.

The unfinished application to Barden still sat on the piano and Chloe had half a mind to finish it and send it in right then. Unfortunately, her mother’s call from the back door told her it was time to go to the church. The dishes from lunch remained untouched.

Chloe started singing the second she got into the giant church hall. Her voice bounced off the walls and the echoes that surrounded her made the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. The redhead’s mom’s smooth alto voice joined hers and the two sang a rendition of a hymn that Mrs. Beale was considering adding onto the list. The purity of this a capella was almost too good for Chloe to contain her giggling. It was amazing.

The pair spent about an hour singing through hymns and pulling out which ones fit the setting of the mass for the next day before the rest of the choir started straggling in. It was an uneventful evening. Chloe sat at the piano and played through accompaniments until the organist showed up and took over. She improved extra harmonies above the rest of the choir and got a few smiles from the younger women in the ensemble. Overall, it was a pretty enjoyable evening.

Chloe was home and staring at the application to Barden. Her phone was in her left hand and playing another video of a Bella performance while a pen was gripped tightly in her right. She scribed her information in the remaining boxes on the front then started listing her music experience in the extracurriculars section.

“Chloe?” she heard Lucas call from outside the music room.

“What, hun?” she answered and continued copying down information.

A tiny auburn-haired head appeared in the doorway, “I found a letter with your name on it. Wait, what are you doing?”

Chloe quickly hid the nearly finished application under a piano book and reached out to snatch the letter from her brother.

“Where did you find this?” she asked as he pulled the letter away from her outstretched hand.

“It was in a stack of bills on the counter. Mom asked me to clean up before she could work on dinner since you never washed the dishes,” he answered slowly with a mischievous grin on his face.

She could see Juilliard’s crest on the envelope clutched in the boy’s hand and the anticipation was driving her mad.

“Where are mom and dad?” she asked, “and why do you look so smug?”

“Dad got called out to work while you were at church earlier. Mom went to the store,” he continued grinning slyly.

“Okay, so answer my second question,” the redhead said with a sigh.

“No reason,” he answered and smiled genuinely this time and held the letter out to her.

Chloe wasn’t entirely convinced but took the letter from him anyhow. She picked at the seal for a moment but set it down on top of the piano. Lucas had already disappeared back into the kitchen so she pulled out the application to Barden and finished filling in her information. The redhead found an envelope in the office, folded the application neatly along with letters of recommendation and an essay into it, then sealed it. As she was placing a stamp on the upper corner, her mom walked up to her from behind.

“Having second thoughts, honey?” she said while placing a hand on her daughter’s shoulder.

Chloe jumped and turned around quickly. Her eyes were wide and she attempted to hide the letter from view.

“Chlo, you don’t have to hide this from us. Whatever school you pick is your choice,” her mom placed her hand back on her shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze, “you could choose a community college down the road and we’d love you as much as we would if you went to the number one music school in the country. As long it makes you happy, then we are happy for you.”

The redhead felt tears welling up in her eyes as she hugged her mom. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she’d been terrified that her mom would resent her for not picking the best school on her list. Barden was never an option before but right then she felt as if it were the best one.

“Thank you,” was all she could say before running back downstairs and putting the envelope in the mailbox on the front porch. 

As she sat back down on the piano bench in her music room, Chloe stared at the Juilliard envelope. ‘I don’t want to know,’ she thought and slid the envelope inside the piano book that she’d used earlier to hide it. She stuck the book in the bookshelf in a random place and told herself she’d look at it when her results for Barden came back.

‘It’ll only be a couple weeks,’ she thought, ‘It won’t be that hard.’

A small sound broke her train of thought and she pulled out her cell phone.

‘1 New Message,’ flashed across the front screen before she flipped it open.

Chloe’s heart jumped to her throat. Aubrey’s name was flashing on the screen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's exam week so I have been slow to update the second half of this chapter but I assure you that once finals are over, it will be updated as close to weekly as possible.

**Author's Note:**

> Any audition information for Eastman School of Music was given to me by a friend who had auditioned there for a summer camp. Any actual audition information is a mystery to me but follows what I experienced at other music schools.


End file.
